The 5 Dates Contract
by RachelDucal
Summary: The '5 dates contract' he called it. A payment plan of sorts. If I did not come up with the money in two days, my body would be his. Yes, I, Alice, made a deal with the devil. But I don't go on my knees that easily, and I certainly don't open my legs for a serpent. I have no plans of honoring this deal. Poor Alice! Doesn't she realize that the devil always comes to collect!


You never see it coming; the day everything changes. You might recognize the moment, but by then it is already too late to stop it. You can run from it, hide even, but fate has already arrived. Nothing you can do to change that. Nothing you can do to put the secret back into the box.

It was a day like any other. The jocks were huddled around Tom Keller's locker, talking about the upcoming football game and how short the cheerleader's skirts would be this year.

"Watch it!" Alice fell back against the wall of the crowded corridor, students streaming out of a large class that had just dismissed pushing past her. A few students casted apologetic glances back at her as they walked away and waved a hand in an appeasing gesture. She sighed, shaking her head, and pushed away from the wall.

Alice had a reputation as a badass around Riverdale High, as the resident journalist and editor of the school newspaper and the owner of a nasty, hair-trigger temper.

She curled up on the sofa in the break room and continued her reading as Penelope Blossom walked in. Her golden curls flowed down her Dior dress, matching perfectly with the orange Jimmy Choo pumps, salmon colored nails and flawless make-up. Hermione had her arm around Penelope, leaning in close and grinning at her, teeth all pearly white.

"Whatever it is you're thinking, unthink it. The answer is no, Penelope."

Penelope rolled her eyes and before she could retort, Alice spoke up again.

"What do you want, Penelope?"

"I'm one girl short for the game tonight. Amberlee has-"

"Get to the point, Penelope."

"I'd rather not ask you, but I've seen you dance, I know you can move. And, you have a tolerable enough body under all that badly applied make-up and leather."

Penelope Blossom and her squad; Hermione and Sierra. Penelope was queen of Riverdale High. And like most queens, she had a lot of blood on her hands. Little did I know, I was going to be her next victim.

"No thanks."

"Maybe after I tell you what I know, you will change your mind."

"I highly doubt it."

Penelope smiled. "I assume you heard about Fred Andrews getting arrested."

Alice shrugged and turned a page in her book. "Everybody knows that, Penelope."

Hermione walked over to stand beside her, still smiling. "Wrongfully convicted."

Penelope sighed heavily. "Everybody already knows you're sleeping with him, Hermione. No need to make it more obvious."

Hermione stared at her best friend, speechless.

"Fred was sentenced to two months in juvey. And guess who he met in lockup?" Penelope's expression revealed excitement and anticipation as she continued. "FP Jones; the new serpent leader."

If Penelope had struck a nerve, Alice didn't show it, her expression remained blank.

The ginger queen continued regardless. "Hermione went to see Fred. Apparently FP told him that you two have some unfinished business."

When Alice glanced up, Penelope was gazing at her through narrowed eyes. "Maybe I should go talk to FP myself and tell him that you are the reason he's in jail."

Alice closed her book and took a deep breath.

"Finally, I have your attention."

FP Jones. Alice felt like she must be hearing things. Did he really tell Fred about the contract?

"I still don't know wh-"

"I have the phone call." Penelope cut in.

"The what?" Alice's voice sounded shrill.

Penelope glanced at her curiously. "That anonymous tip the police received the night of the raid. The one that got FP arrested. Sounds an awful lot like you."

Alice eyed Penelope. "You're fishing."

Penelope lifted her chin. "Don't think so."

Alice laughed uncomfortably. "I don't know what you think you have. But you can't prove it."

"Maybe not, but I think it will be enough for FP to believe me."

Alice let out a long breath. "Fine, what do you want, Penelope?"

Now Penelope's smile was even wider. "To hear the whole story, of course, and a favor."

"You can only blackmail me into one. Which is it going to be? The story or the favor?" Alice replied with a forced smile.

"You seem to forget that I hold all the cards." Penelope pointed out cheerfully. "I want the whole story, and the favor, or I'll play that tape for the whole damn prison. I heard not only serpents went down that night, ghoulies too."

Alice cleared her throat and put her book down, ignoring the redhead and her sidekick for a moment.

Penelope stepped closer to the sofa, demanding Alice to focus back onto her. "Is this the police station? I want to report a crime."

Penelope imitated Alice perfectly; her tone just right, putting emphasis on the exact same words as she had done that night.

"Okay," Alice began weakly, her fingers tracing the corners of her book nervously. "Remember Brendan Mercer?"

"The rich kid who posted naked pictures of your best friend Margo?"

Alice nodded. "He was convicted to 24 hours of community service and lost his spot on the football team. But instead of blaming himself for his misfortunes, he took it out on Margo because she made charges against him."

Alice's mouth continued to spill her story, but her mind was protesting as loudly as it could.

"One day, after another confrontation between Margo and Brendan, this guy shows up in a leather jacket, offering to take care of Brendan for a price."

Alice tried to keep her breathing slow and steady. "I didn't take it, I simply walked away."

Hermione looked relieved, Penelope did not; she knew enough to know this was not the end of the story.

"Soon after, it got really bad. Margo started receiving threats. And after her dog mysteriously vanished and her car got keyed, she simply refused to leave the house altogether. The police insisted the dog ran off and considered the damaged car a teenage prank. But we both knew who was responsible, and that he wouldn't stop." Alice added, fighting to keep the tremor out of her voice. "A few days later, leather jacket shows up at the park, offering his services once again. And this time, I took the deal."

Alice hadn't seen Penelope this shocked since Amelia won the class princess competition in third grade instead of her.

"A few days later, Brendan transferred to another school. I saw him in the hall the day he left; he had a black eye, stared at the ground the entire time, and didn't even look at me as he passed."

"Where did you get the money from, Alice?" Hermione demanded, her voice high and slightly panicked. "This favor couldn't have been cheap."

"It wasn't. But I was supposed to pay him with the money from my… bake sales."

Penelope shook her head. "Oh please, we all know about your weed muffins, Alice."

"So, your illegal side business was supposed to pay for the cleanup of Riverdale's number one pervert?" Hermione made it more a statement of fact than a question.

"Yes, but somebody snitched, and my business got busted. My parents found the money, and when principal Featherhead found out, I got suspended."

"I remember, it was quite the scandal." Hermione pointed a disapproving finger at Alice who continued her story.

"FP showed up a few days later asking for the money. When I couldn't pay… At first I got off with a warning, but he kept coming back, and I didn't have the money. Next time when he confronted me, he wasn't alone. His fellow gang members threatened me. I wanted to tell my parents, or the police, but I was being watched. That same night I found a snake under the covers of my bed. A warning. There was no way out."

Alice hated herself for what she allowed herself to get into, but she hated this moment even more. Confessing a secret such as this would have consequences, but once again, she was left without a choice.

"Two nights later he came to me with a proposal." Alice breathed out heavily. "The 5 dates contract he called it. A payment plan of sorts. If I did not come up with the money in two days, I would have to pay him in flesh."

"Flesh?" Hermione asked, licking her lips in a nervous gesture.

"On the first date he would… I would have to let him kiss me for as long as he wanted. After that, I would get 2 more days to make the payment, if I couldn't, the second date would involve-"

"You made a deal with the devil?" Penelope interrupted, holding her arms up in disbelief.

"I didn't, at first. But what choice did I have?"

"You signed it?"

Alice nodded, not looking Penelope in the eye. "Yes, I did, and other serpents witnessed me signing it." She sounded desperate and ashamed, Alice almost felt sorry for herself. "I had no intention of going through with it, so when the first date came…"

"You created the riot?"

"I had no choice."

"All this to save your innocence?"

Alice blushed at the insinuation. "What does it matter to you if FP is in juvey?"

"It doesn't, but I need an extra girl and… damn, if you put half that much energy and brains into becoming popular, you could rule this school beside me."

Surprised, and in spite of herself, Alice shook her head. "I'm not interested."

"Oh well, be at the prison in 4 hours."

"What?" Alice's eyes widened in shock. "You promised-"

"To keep your secret? Yes I did. But you owe me a favor, and Hermione says Fred can use the support. He's organizing a football game for his fellow inmates and asked us to cheer." Penelope's smirk got even bigger.

"Penelope, that is not what we agreed upon."

But Penelope and Hermione had already linked arms and walked through the door, chatting about some over-the-summer drama.

A few hours later, Alice stood in a cheerleader uniform outside the prison gates. The fence almost gave way under the pressure of testosterone driven men, gaping, as the woman in short skirts ran through their flawlessly planned choreography.

Alice honestly didn't know why she had let Penelope talk her into this. Actually, she knew exactly why she was dancing in this ridiculous too-tight uniform, but at the same time this was undeniably a truly awful idea. Penelope hated her, and made no secret about it. Even if the red-head kept her promise, Alice had a feeling something was about to change.

After the game, Alice was asked, no, instructed, to stay behind and help with the cleanup. That was the reason why she was picking pompons and confetti from the grass when disaster struck.

"We have unfinished business." FP was leaning against the fence, his rolled-up prison uniform revealing his serpent tattoo on his right muscled arm.

Alice gasped at the much feared intrusion. "Yes, but luckily that is no longer possible."

"There won't always be bars between us." He pushed his obvious hardened member against the fence.

Too stunned to respond, Alice simply turned and walked away.

Penelope, who had witnessed the scene from a far, turned to Hermione and smiled. "Poor Alice! Doesn't she know that the devil always comes to collect."


End file.
